Innehållsförteckning för March 2021 från Performance VW

Do you ever wonder what you’d be doing, if you weren’t into playing around with cars? I often refer to this as, having a ‘normal’ hobby… or life! I say life, because for a lot of us, messing around with VWs is a huge part of our existence. Sure, you go to work to pay bills and support your loved ones… but other than putting food on the table, I bet most of you are saving for that next set of wheels or performance upgrade. Tony Grimmel, whose Rieger Mk1 Scirocco graces this month’s cover (and is pictured in the photo with me to the right) has been into this game for well over two decades, while John Williams (whose TT-RS features on p40) is approaching 30 years! How long…

The genius of the ever-popular Hot Wheels toys is that they’ve always offered a sort of aspirational caricature of the cars of your dreams. Sure, they’re tooled to closely resemble the bodies of the real things, but the wheels are generally slightly too large, the ride height slightly too low; in essence, the project cars we all build are really just efforts to recreate the Hot Wheels ethos in real life. There is, of course, another dimension to this scale-model genius. It’s not just the Corvettes and 911s and other fancy motors that get us all sweaty-palmed in the toy aisle; no, it’s the models of mundane and unexpected cars that are often the coolest. The Volvo 850s, the EF Honda Civics, the Mk5 Golfs, these are the most exciting…

Another monster build here, Nathan pretty much set out to build the ultimate Bora show car. And you know what, he pretty much nailed it. Incredible shaved bay with ‘floating’ 24v V6 motor, luxurious leather-coated interior and super subtle body with far more mods than first met the eye. A killer car, worthy of cover and taking running up slot here in Car of the Year. It’s only a shame the car got sold (well, raffled off) and soon parted out. We’re only glad we have the photos and feature to look back over in aww. What a car, what a guy!…

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Why do you go to car shows? With the world at your fingertips, you can scroll through builds in the comfort of your favourite leather recliner, café, or even porcelain throne. There’s just something special about seeing cars in the metal, but more importantly, catching up with your friends… in the flesh! Across the pond, most think of Euro District as the season opener, the first show of the season to dust off your summer wheels or finish that project that dragged out all winter. Registration usually opens on Black Friday, and alarms are always set to guarantee a spot in the Top 150. The first 150 to register get a free show poster in addition to the show shirt and other goodies, you see. Three years in a row…

The first time I met Tony Grimmel was in a motel room in Ocean City, Maryland back in 2005. If the story sounds pretty dubious, then wait till you hear the outcome. Tony and his friends had formed the, then popular, Torque VW Magazine video, which was basically a bunch of videos documenting Tony and his VW friends going to car shows, getting into trouble and generally larking around. We’d become big fans in the PVW office and, while out in Ocean City for H20 that year, somebody mentioned they knew Tony and asked if we’d like to meet him. Why the hell not, we thought. Cutting a long story short, we all headed over to the Torque crew’s motel complex where Tony thought it would be a good idea…

When we got word that Jean-Pierre at JP Performance was building a Mk7, we knew it would probably be pretty special, but we weren’t ready for this. Starting with a three-door base model, the car was stripped to a bare shell and rebuilt from the ground up, strengthened, lightened and widened as the JP team went. Not only does the car look radical, but with an inline 3.2-litre V6 motor boosted by a Garrett GT47 turbo (plus the secondary electric turbo from an Audi Q7) sending power to a Nissan R34 rear diff, the car goes pretty well too! The Rocket Bunny-kitted car runs centre-locking Rotiforms, behind which live huge MOV.IT brakes and custom KW coilovers. It features a multi-point cage, a single Recaro bucket, side exit exhaust and was…

There’s a saying that bags and wheels don’t make a show car, but that’s not really such a bad place to start things off. Of course, once that’s done, it’s the details that count, and South African VW enthusiast Ruan Grobbelaar knows that all too well. Ruan’s Limestone grey Mk7 R is a beaut of a thing, and he’s made sure that the car has all the right bits in all the right places, enough to win the title of Best Mk7 at SA’s biggest annual Volkswagen gathering that luckily took place just before the pandemic made the world go mad – Vdub Camp Fest 2020. The Mk7 class is hotly contested these days with a variety of properly sorted entrants, so it’s quite the thing to take top honours.…

CHRIS SCRAGG AGE: 37 OCCUPATION: Alloy wheel repair JOB TITLE: Wheel specialist LOCATION: Liverpool Massive Audi fan, with a particular penchant for old-skool examples, ‘ruined’ by silly modifications… Favourite issue of PVW? Very biased, but I can only say the issue that features my Audi TT (PVW 8/13). My heart went into that build and I was so proud when I had the photo shoot. We did a joint shoot in the studio with Elliott’s old Mk4 Golf (Project 4Play), that was owned by Chris Seymor, who is also a good friend. We had an amazing time, great memories and to this day both cars still look fresh. Favourite PVW feature car? Janet Edwardson’s Lamborghini Mk4 Golf. I refurbished the alloys on that car… it was next level and a…

What better way for Scorpion to start the 2021 season than with the announcement of its new range of exhaust options for the Mk8 Golf GTI. Its technicians have developed a 76mm / 3" GPF back exhaust system (with EC approval pending) for VW’s latest hot hatch model. The GPF-back system is constructed from 304 stainless steel, is available as either resonated or non-resonated and comes finished with polished 114mm slash-cut Daytona or inwardly rolled Indy tailpipes. The larger diameter tailpipes give the car a more aggressive appearance to complement the performance. To further enhance the look of the car Scorpion’s premium quality Carbon Ascari tailpipes will also be available in the larger diameter very soon. Currently, (whether you opt for Indy or Daytona tailpipes) the non-resonated GPF back systems…

Being a contributor to the magazine for over a decade, we’d been only too familiar with Mike’s on-going, labour of love Mk3 project. The fact Mike owned this car when he first passed his driving test, and modified it from the ground up, made this something of an interesting story. Built around a 3.0-litre VR6 turbo the project showed modified cars can run air suspension and still be driven extremely hard. We loved the colour, the wheels, the interior and the hot rod inspired touches. In fact, there wasn’t anything we didn’t like, which makes it even better that Mike snagged the bronze here against some extremely tough competition. PAST WINNERS' HALL OF FAME…

Although trends come and go, there are some notable recurring threads running through the Performance VW’s first 25 years, and John Williams is definitely one of them. Detail driven and a lover of lows, his inimitable style has re-appeared in these pages no less than five previous times starting with his legendary Mk1, which was featured in our second issue (PVW 11/96). So when we wrapped up his Scirocco shoot at the start of 2016, we took it with a pinch of salt when he said his fifth feature would be his last. It turns out old habits die hard. “I think it was inevitable that this was gonna happen,” he says, smiling at the recap of our last conversation. “The Scirocco went back to standard before I part-exed it…

Let’s start with the very basics; you can’t actually buy this car in the UK or Europe. The Volkswagen Atlas comes with the 3.6-litre VR6, and it’s the biggest SUV that the group produces in the world. Oh, and it’s only available in North America, the Middle East, China and Russia! Last year, Volkswagen decided to chop a bit off the back of the full-size Atlas, and create another version - the Atlas Cross Sport, which is the car you see here. Here we ask, was can it really be sporty, what's it capable of, would it work in the UK, and what happens when you drive one into a race track corner at 115mph with the guys from Hoonigan live streaming from the passenger seat? Stay tuned to find…

of you’re masochistic enough to follow me on social media, then you may have noticed I’ve been getting behind the wheel of some press cars during the autumn, filling product knowledge gaps left after Covid disrupted earlier deliveries. It’s been fun getting back into a few newcomers, but there is a downside – it’s highlighted some nagging problems with my own car. I should stress that I’m not expecting a well-used, 30-year-old hatchback to feel modern. That would ruin it. I love the G40’s unassisted, analogue driving experience, the noise it makes and even the way it smells. But there’s a difference between characteristic old car traits – a good thing, on the whole – and parts which are just worn out. If you’re going to enjoy the experience, it…